Lottery players exploit loophole to grab extra winnings
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The Maryland Lottery has taken action against people who have been claiming more tickets than they’ve won.
According to a legislative audit, there are players in Maryland who have cashed in many tickets, and it’s stamping down on the practice.
The report states there are eight people who each claimed ‘high-dollar’ prizes 200 or more times during 2020, totaling nearly $4.5 million in winnings.
Altogether, auditors found there were 362 people who claimed these ‘high-dollar’ prizes at least 20 times that same year, totaling more than $31 million.
Lottery prizes of more than $600 are considered to be ‘high-dollar.’
john martin
"It really has nothing to do with winning. There’s no problem with the integrity of the games, there’s no problem with people actually winning the games," explained Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin.
"The challenge came with claiming winning tickets,” he said.
Martin, however, said there’s more to the story.
He told FOX 5 Monday that when you cash in a winning ticket, Maryland first takes out any money you owe the state.
For example, that could be back taxes, or it could be child support. Martin said it’s called "discounting" when a person gives their winning ticket to someone else with a clean record who therefore wouldn’t have any money subtracted from the winnings.
That way, the person who actually purchased the winning ticket pays the person who claims the prize an agreed-upon fee instead of the state taking out whatever the actual winner owes.
FULL STORY: Maryland lottery players claimed prizes they didn't win.
